Femoral neck fractures are often treated with a pin or other implant inserted into the femoral head along an axis of the femoral neck. One such product is the Stryker® Hansson® Pin System, which is a rod first and second ends separated from one another by a side wall with no threading on its outer surface. The Hansson® Pin has a hook deployable from a first end region for fixing the Hansson® Pin in the femoral head. The hook is deployed by pushing a shaft in the second end, which in turns deploys the hook through a hole in the side wall. Generally, two or three Hansson® pins are inserted into the femoral head to fix the femoral head and to facilitate healing of the femoral neck fracture.
Other known products for treatment of femoral neck fractures include the Stryker® Gamma3® Hip Fracture system and the Smith+Nephew® Trigen®0 Intertan® Trochanteric Nail system. Both these systems include an intramedullary nail insertable into the femur and have rod-like fasteners insertable through the intramedullary nail into the femoral head for stabilizing the femoral neck fracture. Additionally, each of these systems includes a feature for minimizing unwanted rotation of the femoral head relative to the rod-like fastener, which is fixed in the nail. After the fastener is fixed, medial migration of the femoral head relative to the neck fracture may cause an end of the rod-like fastener to perforate the femoral head and damage the hip-joint. Another known product is the Synthes®DHS® which includes a bone plate fixable to the femur in the vicinity of the femoral head. The bone plate is prevented from rotating once positioned by a plurality of bone screws extending through the plate into the femur. The bone plate includes a channel extending across a portion positioned to permit a rod-like fastener to be passed through the channel into the femoral head to stabilize the femoral head and allow healing of a femoral neck fracture. The rod-like fastener is impacted to drive it into the femoral head.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved system for femoral neck fracture fixation.